How to pronounce ming bai (明白) in Chinese

Hear 明白 (míng bai) spoken, see what it means, then record yourself for instant AI feedback on your pronunciation.

明白

míng bai

Characters & meanings

明

míngT2

bright; next (day/year)

白

baiT0

surname Bai

Common mistake

Rising + neutral (2-0): climb on míng, then bai falls out light — a full bái makes it sound like 明 + 白 ("bright white") instead of "understand".

Tone change in this word

白 reads neutral in 明白, unlike its full bái as "white".

Example sentence

我明白了。

Wǒ míngbai le.

I understand now.

Try it yourself

Record yourself saying 明白 and get instant AI feedback.

</>Embed this on your site

Free for teachers and blogs — paste this code into your page:

<iframe src="https://toneperfect.app/embed/pronounce/ming-bai" width="100%" height="520" style="border:1px solid #e7e2dc;border-radius:12px" loading="lazy" allow="microphone" title="Pronounce 明白 (míng bai)"></iframe>
<p style="font-size:13px;margin-top:4px"><a href="https://toneperfect.app/pronounce/ming-bai">Pronounce 明白 (míng bai)</a> by <a href="https://toneperfect.app">TonePerfect</a></p>

Related sounds

明天míng tiān

Keep exploring

Pinyin Chart →Pinyin syllables →HSK →Blog →

Train, don't just read

Practice your pronunciation in the app

A guide can explain the tones, but you can't fix your pronunciation by reading. The TonePerfect app lets you actually say the words and scores every syllable — initial, final, and tone — in real time, so you hear your mistakes and correct them on the spot.

Instant AI feedback on every syllable
Practice any word, sentence, or HSK list
Hands-on tone training you can't get from reading

Download onApp Store Download onGoogle Play Open in browser

Free to start · 4.6★ · 20,000+ learners